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Update: US Equity Futures Lower Pre-Bell Thursday as Traders Assess Inflation Data Amid Higher Oil Prices

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(Updates with economic data, recent oil price movement, world markets' overview and corporate stock movements.)

US equity futures were edging lower pre-bell Thursday as traders assessed the first of two key inflation reports this week and observed oil prices continuing to ascend, with Brent crude futures exceeding $105 per barrel.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 0.1% lower, S&P 500 futures were down 0.4%, and Nasdaq futures were 1% lower.

President Donald Trump said that he expects the war with Iran to end after the November US midterm elections, according to media reports. He told reporters Wednesday that Iran was trying to influence the elections.

Traders digested the latest round of earnings, with Macy's (M) posting higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and revenue.

Oracle (ORCL) is expected to report its fiscal Q1 earnings after the market closes. Analysts polled by FactSet expect earnings of $1.74 per share on revenue of $19.14 billion.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 4.4% at $105.67 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 4.8% higher at $100.66 per barrel.

The US Producer Price Index, a measure of wholesale inflation released at 8:30 am ET, rose 0.4% in August as expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg, and following a 0.1% gain in July. The consumer price index follows on Friday.

Initial jobless claims fell to 206,000 in the week ended Sept. 5 from 207,000 in the previous week, compared with expectations for a drop to 205,000.

The existing home sales report, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, is expected to show a decrease of 1.7% for August after a 1.7% drop in the prior month.

In other world markets, Japan's Nikkei closed 0.2% higher, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 1.3% lower, and China's Shanghai Composite finished 0.4% lower. Meanwhile, the UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.6%, and Germany's DAX index was 0.2% lower in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, Macy's stock fell 4% after the company reported its fiscal Q2 financial results. HSBC (HSBC) shares dropped 1.9% after the company said that Pam Kaur plans to step down as chief financial officer and executive director next year. UBS (UBS) stock was down 1.8% after a Reuters report that the company plans to cease its fund sales unit in China at the end of September.

On the winning side, Exxon Mobil (XOM) and ConocoPhillips (COP) shares were up 1.9% and 2.3%, respectively, as part of a broader upswing in energy-related stocks.

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Update: US Equity Indexes Fall as Treasury Yields Rise After Bessent Triples Size of Buyback Program, Worsening Iran War Sends Brent Crude Above $100

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, comments, and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes slid as government bond yields jumped after the Treasury Department unveiled plans to triple government debt buybacks to as much as $6 billion and after Brent crude oil futures surpassed $100 a barrel.The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6% to 26,253.34, the S&P 500 retreated 0.5% to 7,636.36, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.8% to 52,380.66 on Wednesday. All sectors except energy fell, with consumer discretionary, real estate, industrials and utilities among the steepest decliners.Iran is ready for a more intense war and will escalate counterstrikes if the US continues attacking its territory and infrastructure, Bloomberg reported, citing a senior official from the Islamic Republic. Tehran has no intention of backing down in the face of an American naval blockade and attacks on its oil tankers, the official told the news outlet.The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps plans to declare a restricted zone stretching from Chabahar into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. Any vessel entering this area will face sanctions, it said. The Strait of Hormuz accounted for about a fifth of global oil and gas flow daily before the Iran war.Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five of Tehran's oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war, Reuters reported.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract surged 3.6% to $96.39 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent soared 3.5% to $101.34 per barrel.The Treasury Department plans to buy back up to $6 billion of government debt, CNBC reported. The move triples the normal buyback operation, following an announcement Aug. 19 from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying the department would at least double the normal amount for already issued securities.As longer-maturity bond yields rise, governments are taking steps to adjust issuance of longer-dated securities, according to Goldman Sachs. The US Treasury said last month it plans to increase buybacks of Treasuries with a maturity of 10 years or more, reducing the maturity profile of US debt stock. Shorter-maturity issuance will finance the buybacks."It's an effective reduction in the average maturity of issuance," Goldman's George Cole, head of European rates strategy, said in a webinar. "That in and of itself isn't sufficient to change the yield level."Most US Treasury yields rose, with the 10-year yield up 3.7 basis points to 4.84%, close to its highest since late 2023.In company news, Meta Platforms (META) launched a new personal artificial intelligence agent called Muse AI, which can send emails, book travel plans, take on goals, and continue working after users close the app. Shares advanced 6.6%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Casey's General Stores (CASY) fiscal Q1 same-store sales growth slowed and missed Wall Street estimates, taking the shine off earnings and revenue beats. Shares sank 14%, the steepest decliner on the S&P 500.In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales surged 8.3% from a year earlier in the week ended Sept. 5, after a 9.6% year-over-year increase in the previous week.Gold futures were steady at $4,442.4, and silver futures jumped 1.3% to $67.87.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$CASY$META
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Update: US Equity Indexes Drop as Crude Oil Tops $100 Mark Amid Worsening Iran War, Yields Surge After Treasury Triples Government-Debt Buybacks

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, comments and company/geopolitical news from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes slid after Brent crude oil futures crossed $100 a barrel and a surge in government bond yields wiped the shine off the Treasury Department's move to triple government debt buybacks to as much as $6 billion.The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.6% to 26,260.2, the S&P 500 retreated 0.4% to 7,641.5, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.5% to 52,522.6 after midday Wednesday. All sectors except energy fell, with consumer discretionary, real estate, industrials and utilities among the steepest decliners.The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps plans to declare a restricted zone stretching from Chabahar into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, Al Jazeera, a Middle Eastern broadcaster, reported. Any vessel entering this area will face sanctions, it said. The Strait of Hormuz accounted for about a fifth of global oil and gas flow daily before the Iran war.Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war, Reuters reported."Oil prices will be higher for longer with no end in sight for what remains Iran's strategy of managed irresolution through US midterms," Derek Holt, the head of capital market economics at Scotiabank, said in a note.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract surged 2.9% to $95.68 per barrel, and global benchmark North Sea Brent soared 2.8% to $100.68 per barrel.The Treasury Department plans to buy back up to $6 billion of government debt, CNBC reported. The move triples the normal buyback operation, following an announcement Aug. 19 from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that the department would at least double the normal amount for already-issued securities.Most US Treasury yields rose, with the two-year up 2.5 basis points to 4.42%. The 10-year yield jumped 3.1 basis points to 4.84%, trading close to its highest since late 2023.Treasury yields rose despite the increased buyback announcement, as some on Wall Street expect even bigger repurchases, according to CNBC.Gold futures rose 0.6% to $4,464.00, and silver futures jumped 2.8% to $68.90.In company news, Meta Platforms (META) launched a new personal artificial intelligence agent called Muse AI, which can send emails, book travel plans, take on goals, and continue working after users close the app. Shares advanced 6.2%, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.Casey's General Stores (CASY) fiscal Q1 same-store sales growth slowed and missed Wall Street estimates, taking the shine off earnings and revenue beats. Shares sank more than 15%, the steepest decliner on the S&P 500.In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales surged 8.3% from a year earlier in the week ended Sept. 5, after a 9.6% year-over-year increase in the previous week.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$CASY$META
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds, US Equities Fall After Midday

Broad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV were lower. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) fell 0.3%.US equity indexes fell as Brent crude oil futures crossed $100 a barrel, while a surge in government bond yields wiped the shine off the Treasury Department's move to triple government debt buybacks to as much as $6 billion.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) gained 0.8% and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) climbed 0.8%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) gained 0.1%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) dropped fractionally, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) added 0.2%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) rose 0.2%, while iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) advanced 0.7%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) slipped 0.1%. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 0.5%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 0.5%.CommoditiesCrude oil increased 2.5%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) gained 1.4%. Natural gas shed 3%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) dropped 2.8%.Gold on Comex increased 0.3%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) moved 1.3% higher. Silver advanced 2%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) rose 3.9%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) shed 1.1%. The Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) fell 1.1%, and iShares Dow Jones US Consumer Goods (IYK) eased 0.9%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) lost 1.2%. The VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) fell 1.1%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) dropped 1.3%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 0.2%; iShares US Healthcare (IYH) dropped 0.3% and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) declined 0.4%, while iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) shed 0.6%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) was 1.2% lower. The Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) shed 1.2% and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) dropped 0.9%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) gained 0.3%. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) increased 0.5%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) fell 0.2%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) was flat.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH